Bluegrass State Skills Corporation — Grant-in-Aid (GIA)

BSSC Grant-in-Aid

Funds projects that build technical skills in Kentucky through grant-in-aid support for workforce and educational innovation.

The Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC) Grant-in-Aid is a Kentucky state program established by the General Assembly in 1984 under KRS 154.12-204. It provides cash reimbursements to Kentucky businesses for the cost of approved occupational and skills-upgrade training programs. The program serves workers at new and expanding Kentucky companies as well as employees requiring skills or occupational upgrades at existing businesses. Training consortia — groups of companies pooling a shared training program — are also eligible applicants. BSSC operates as an independent de jure corporation allied with KEDFA but governed by its own Board of Directors, which reviews and approves applications at scheduled meetings throughout the year.

Eligible industries include manufacturing, agribusiness, non-retail service, technology, headquarters operations, hospital operations, coal severing and processing, alternative fuel, gasification, renewable energy production, and carbon dioxide transmission pipelines. Retail businesses are excluded. Reimbursement is paid after approved training is delivered; applicants pay training costs upfront and are reimbursed upon verification. For FY2026, the new application and guidelines are expected on the BSSC website around early June 2026, taking effect at the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2026. Submission deadlines are published in the Instructions tab of the application. For scale, August 2025 disbursements totaled $1.8 million in state funding supporting approximately 2,300 Kentucky workers, and August 2024 awards supported training for more than 4,000 Kentuckians.

Applicants should monitor the BSSC website and the BSSC Board meeting calendar for FY2026 application availability and scheduled approval windows. Because BSSC operates on its own Board calendar — distinct from KEDFA's monthly meeting cadence — submission deadlines vary by meeting cycle. Competitive applications document the scope of approved training, the number of workers served, and the eligible-industry classification of the sponsoring company. Companies planning expansion-phase hiring in manufacturing, technology, or energy sectors that include a structured workforce training component are well-positioned for this program.